Sprint Launches Motorola Debut i856, First PTT Slider Phone

Sprint has launched the Motorola Debut, the first slider phone with push-to-talk. Users can connect one-on-one or with a group, even on the fly, and switch from a PTT call to a traditional voice call with the push of a button.

Collaborators and business users have a new option in the Motorola
Debut i856, the first slider phone with push-to-talk service, available
from Sprint as of Oct. 12.
The Debut is the first device to allow users to switch from an active
PTT conversation to an interconnect voice call by just touching a
button. It was designed for one-handed operation and makes it simple to
speak with one person or a group. With Sprint's Group Connect
productivity tool, a two-way call in progress can expand to include
additional colleagues or friends.

According to Sprint, the Debut also offers sub-one-second call setup, a
large selection of GPS solutions and connection to the world's largest
PTT community and integrated business solutions.

"Motorola Debut introduces an attractive and convenient form factor
unlike any Nextel Direct Connect users have seen before," said Danny
Bowman, president of Sprint's integrated solutions group, in a
statement.

"Debut is even more interesting when you combine Sprint's
industry-leading push-to-talk capabilities of the Nextel National
Network and our affordable rate plans, with a rich array of multimedia
and texting capabilities that help users communicate faster and more
flexibly both at work and at play."

The Debut can send and receive data such as messages, calendar events,
pictures and location information without interrupting a Direct Connect
call. It also offers threaded text messaging, allowing users to view an
entire conversation on one screen, as well as enables users to play
music while texting or talking.

Other features include a 3.5mm audio jack, for use with the music
player, a "3D audio equalizer" for creating special musical effects,
and a 1.3-megapixel camera with digital zoom, video and GPS tagging
capabilities. It's Wireless Web enabled, has Stereo Bluetooth, a
microSD card for expanding the memory by 8GB, speakerphone with
voice-activated dialing, Multi-media Messaging Service (MMS) and comes
pre-loaded with applications such as Sprint's mobile email and TeleNav
Navigation.

The Debut can be purchased with Nextel Direct Connect calling plans for $99.99 with a two-year contract and $50 mail-in rebate.

Michelle Maisto has been covering the enterprise mobility space for a decade, beginning with Knowledge Management, Field Force Automation and eCRM, and most recently as the editor-in-chief of Mobile Enterprise magazine. She earned an MFA in nonfiction writing from Columbia University, and in her spare time obsesses about food. Her first book, The Gastronomy of Marriage, if forthcoming from Random House in September 2009.